Data access during tax audits: What is the tax office really allowed to do?
If the tax office wants to see your data
Imagine that the tax office demands access to all of your company's electronic data during an audit: accounting, customer data, price lists, contracts. However, such requests deeply infringe on corporate rights. For industries with particularly sensitive data, this poses a massive challenge.
The Federal Finance Court makes it clear in its landmark ruling:
Blanket access to all company data is illegal.
YouTube Video: Tax office data access during tax audit
The groundbreaking ruling of the Federal Finance Court:
The tax office cannot simply demand “everything” across the board, but must take the following points into account:
Proportionality:
The tax office must check whether data access is actually necessary and provide precise reasons for which data is required.Specificity:
Instead of a blanket data export, the tax office must specify specifically which data is relevant for taxation.Data protection:
The tax office must ensure that confidential data remains protected and does not fall into the wrong hands. In particular, mobile devices such as auditors' laptops must not contain such data.
The verdict in detail:
The ruling concerns a case in which a law firm successfully defended itself against a blanket data request. The Federal Fiscal Court confirmed that the audit order cannot be blanket and that the data must be explicitly protected. This is a decisive victory for companies seeking to defend themselves against intrusive data requests.
TaxPro: Your partner in the fight against intrusive audits:
At TaxPro, we have been successfully fighting against unlawful audit orders for years. With our expertise and experience from groundbreaking test case litigation, we help you protect your rights. Use our customized model objections and benefit from the security offered by our legal arguments.
Act now!
Are you facing an audit? Is the tax office demanding access to your data? Don't hesitate. With TaxPro at your side, you stay in control. Contact us and protect your sensitive company data – securely and legally.